DALLAS — Dallas Independent School District is doing something special for students like Melody Chandler to help aid their mental health.
“A lot of students do struggle with anxiety," Chandler said. "Including myself, maybe not in as big of doses as other students do because everybody handles mental health differently, but the way that I see it our anxiety can take over,” Chandler shared.
The sophomore has developed a strong relationship with her counselor, Claudia Rodriguez.
“We see a lot of students with a lot of depression, a lot of students that are very isolated,” Rodriguez explained. "When students come with suicide thoughts. That's one of the very hard days. I think it’s tough for us.”
Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde told WFAA, “In Dallas ISD, we have prioritized mental health. We haven’t just talked about it. We’ve prioritized it.”
This prioritization looks like youth and family centers, specialized services and much more. Elizalde said the district has hired mental health clinicians who work within a community of schools across the district.
Dallas ISD Mental Health Services provides counseling, individual and group therapy, and even things like medication management and crisis intervention. Elizalde emphasized these services are available "from elementary to middle school, to high schools. That’s a very expensive investment. Notice I said investment. It’s not just an expense.”
WFAA asked why mental health services are being considered and given a similar level of focus as something like school safety and security.
“Well, because I think it's all tied up," Conrad High School Lead School Counselor Nitzy Ocoro said. "If you are not doing well mentally, it's going to affect the way that you view life, view your own life, and view somebody else's life.”
Arguably the most unique and important part of the DISD Mental Health Services program is that it is completely free for the district's students and their families. In the 2023-2024 school year, nearly 25,000 students accessed mental health care through the district.
“If I had to deal with it on my own, I'd probably be thinking about it a lot, having bad thoughts like a lot of people do," Chandler explained. "Not being able to process it the correct way, the way that a professional could help me with. So, I do think that it makes a big difference.”
You can learn more about Dallas ISD mental health services here.